Thai Man Finds an Extremely Rare Melo Pearl Worth P1.6M While Cooking Snails

Extremely Rare Melo Pearl

MELO PEARL – A Thai man named Amorn Prakongkwan found an extremely rare pearl that forms inside the Melo snail over many years, while he was cooking a pot of snails.

Amorn noticed something small and round, resembling a stone, shining among the snails. He picked it up and initially threw it away, but then changed his mind and decided to keep it, thinking it might be valuable due to its unique appearance.

His decision was spot on: the stone turned out to be a rare Melo pearl, possibly worth over a million Thai baht (approximately PHP1.6 million or $30,000), according to experts. Amorn, a 54-year-old paint shop owner from Chonburi, Thailand, shared his story with The Pattaya News.

Melo pearl

The Melo pearl is considered extremely rare, as it forms in only a small percentage of Melo snails, which are large edible sea snails found in shallow waters in Thailand. It takes many years for a Melo pearl to form, making it even rarer compared to other types of pearls.

Amorn proudly showed a certificate from the Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (GIT), confirming the authenticity of the pearl. The certificate stated that it is a drop-shaped natural pearl, orange in color, weighing 10.33 carats.

The value of a Melo pearl is $1,500 (PHP83,000) per carat, which means that Amorn’s pearl is worth more than PHP830,000. However, experts believe that the price could potentially increase depending on the offers from potential buyers, and it could reach up to 1 million baht (PHP1.6 million).

Amorn bought the snails for cooking at a price of 80 baht (PHP130) per two kilograms, never expecting that one of them would contain a pearl that would change his life. As of March 24, 2023, Amorn still holds on to the pearl and is considering how much he will sell it for.

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